Guide to install Linux on lab computer

CentOS 5.3 on Dell Optiplex GX620, XPS 710 or XPS 730

Preparation
1. request static IP address in 137.110.118 or 137.110.119 subnet, suggest DNS name (find inspiration at [1])
2. send DNS name to Jurgen to update data bank at [2]
Hardware
1. set up computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse on lab desk
2. make sure mouse is wired and optical
3. connect monitor with DVI cable, not VGA
4. connect network cable to activated Ethernet jack
Install Operating System
1. insert CentOS 5.3 DVD-ROM
2. reboot computer
3. hit F12 during POST and select external USB or DVD drive to boot from DVD
4. use default regional settings (US/English)
5. set root password to IVL password
6. in time zone settings: enable NTP
7. Configure network
8. start network configuration tool in System->Administration->Network
9. double click on connected Ethernet port
10. enter this computer's static IP address
11. net mask: 255.255.255.0
12. DNS servers: 132.239.1.52, 128.54.16.2, 132.239.0.252
13. reboot
Configure server access
1. add machine's IP address to server's "exports" file
2. "exportfs -r" on server
3. add mount line to /etc/fstab (copy from sessions.ucsd.edu)
4. mount -a
If home directories aren't mounted upon reboot: give OS time to get network ready before mounting the NFS
1. "vi /etc/init.d/netfs"
2. insert the following line:
```
action $"Sleeping for 30 secs: " sleep 30
```
  between line:
```
[ ! -f /var/lock/subsys/portmap ] && service portmap start
```
  and
```
action $"Mounting NFS filesystems: " mount -a -t nfs,nfs4
```
  This makes sure the server directory gets mounted.
Copy accounts
1. ssh root@sessions
2. cd .ssh
3. scp * root@<new_machine>:.ssh
4. cd
5. vi labnodes.txt
6. add "<new_machine>"
7. ./passsync
Install additional libraries

yum -y groupinstall "Development Tools"
yum -y groupinstall "Development Libraries"
yum -y groupinstall "Chinese Support"
yum -y install kernel-devel
yum -y install arts-devel
yum -y install curl-devel.x86_64
yum -y install freetype-devel.x86_64
yum -y install freeglut.x86_64
yum -y install freeglut-devel.x86_64
yum -y install libpng-devel.x86_64
yum -y install compat-libstdc++-33
yum -y install boost.x86_64
yum -y install boost-devel.x86_64
yum -y install ImageMagick.x86_64
yum -y install ImageMagick-devel.x86_64
yum -y install ImageMagick-c++.x86_64
yum -y install ImageMagick-c++-devel.x86_64
yum -y install mysql.x86_64
yum -y install mysql-devel.x86_64
yum -y install screen
yum -y install gnuplot
yum -y install java-1.6.0-openjdk*.x86_64
yum -y install latex2html
rpm -Uhv /home/jschulze/rpm/Cg-2.1_November2008_x86_64.rpm
rpm -Uhv /home/jschulze/rpm/mxml-2.2.2-8.el5.ccrma.x86_64.rpm
ln -s /usr/lib64/libmxml.so.1 /usr/lib64/libmxml.so
rpm -Uhv /home/jschulze/rpm/opencv-1.0.0-1.el5.rf.x86_64.rpm

Install Java 1.6.0_14

rpm -Uhv /home/jschulze/rpm/jdk-6u14-linux-amd64.rpm
/usr/sbin/alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/latest/bin/java 2
/usr/sbin/alternatives --install /usr/bin/javac javac /usr/java/latest/bin/javac 2

Then run interactive configuration tool, enter number for correct version.

/usr/sbin/alternatives --config java
/usr/sbin/alternatives --config javac

Update all installed CentOS software:
1. yum -y update Note: run this command several times until no further updates happen
2. reboot
Install graphics driver
1. on login screen: hit ctrl-alt-F1
2. log in as root
3. type "init 3"
4. "sh /home/jschulze/rpm/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-180.44-pkg2.run"
5. skip FTP server lookup
6. do not install 32 bit compatibility libraries
7. do auto-configure graphics driver
8. reboot

CentOS 5.3 on Dell Studio Hybrid

IP: 137.110.115.231

Hardware Specs

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T8100, 2.10GHz
NIC: Realtek RTL 8111/8168B PCI-E
Graphics: Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, Chipset: 965GM
RAM: 3GB
Native OS: Windows Vista Home
Dell 1909Wb display: 1440x900@60Hz

Notes

To insert/remove DVD touch Eject icon on front panel.
Installation policy: erase Windows partition, but leave recovery partition intact
NIC should install automatically
Select DHCP based configuration for network parameters
Graphics driver: use Intel GM965/GL960
install GRUB on MBR, no GRUB password
create 6GB swap drive (should be default)

Getting the Intel graphics unit to work

Download four libraries from Intel site
Instructions at: http://intellinuxgraphics.org/install.html
xorg.conf driver configuration parameters: http://alcor.concordia.ca/manpages/sys4/intel.4.html
xf86 driver needs libdrm >= 2.4.3 (centos 5.3 comes with 2.0.2)
libdrm 2.4.4 requires pthread-stubs, can be found at

http://people.redhat.com/ywong/RHEL-5-addons/x86_64/compiz-fusion/libpthread-stubs/libpthread-stubs-0.1-1.el5.x86_64.rpm

Use the following /etc/X11/xorg.conf file:

# Xorg configuration created by system-config-display

Section "ServerLayout"
        Identifier     "single head configuration"
        Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
        InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier  "Keyboard0"
        Driver      "kbd"
        Option      "XkbModel" "pc105"
        Option      "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "Monitor1"
    VendorName "Dell"
    ModelName "Dell 1440x900"
    HorizSync 30-83
    VertRefresh 56-75
    ModeLine "1440x900@60" 106.40 1440 1520 1672 1904 900 903 909 934 -Hsync +Vsync
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier      "VGA-0"
    Option "Ignore" "true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier      "LVDS-0"
    Option "Ignore" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier "intel"
        Driver      "i810"
#       Option     "monitor-TMDS-1" "Monitor1"
#       Option     "monitor-VGA" "VGA-0"
#       Option     "monitor-LVDS" "LVDS-0"
#        Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP, CRT"
        Option     "AccelMethod" "EXA"
        Option      "RenderAccel" "true"
        Option      "EnablePageFlip" "true"
#       Option      "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"
#       Option      "ExaNoComposite" "false"
#       Option     "DRI" "true"
#       Option     "ForceCRT1" "false"
#       Option     "DPMS"
        Option  "AperTexSize" "131072"
        Option  "ModeDebug" "true"
EndSection

Section "Module"
        Load "glx"
        Load "dri"
        Load "GLcore"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
        Mode 0666
EndSection

Section "Screen"
        Identifier "Screen0"
        Device     "intel"
        Monitor    "Monitor1"
        DefaultDepth     24
        SubSection "Display"
                Depth     24
                Modes     "1440x900@60" "800x600"  # mode 1920x1440 must previously have been overwritten with 1440x900 using the 915resolution tool
                Viewport 0 0
        EndSubSection
EndSection

Add support for widescreen monitors

Download 915resolution from http://www.geocities.com/stomljen/download.html
Copy 915resolution to /usr/sbin/
Run 915resolution (eg, for Dell 1909Wb):

/usr/sbin/915resolution -c G965 5c 1440 900 32

Restart X11 (init3; init5)
To permanently install the 915resolution script add this text as file "/etc/init.d/915start".

#!/bin/sh

PATH=/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin
NAME=915start
DESC=915start

# test -x $DAEMON || exit 0

case "$1" in
  start)
        echo -n "Starting $DESC: "
        echo "$NAME."
         915resolution -c G965 5c 1440 900 32
        ;;
  stop)
        echo "$DESC cannot be stopped."
        ;;
  restart|force-reload)
        echo -n "Starting $DESC: "
        echo "$NAME."
         915resolution -c G965 5c 1440 900 32
        ;;
  *)
        N=/etc/init.d/$NAME
        echo "Usage: $N start" >&2
        exit 1
        ;;
esac

exit 0

Then create a symlink in /etc/rc.d/:

ln -s ../init.d/915start S20915start

Then create a file "/etc/default/915resolution" and put the following text in it:

MODE=5c
XRESO=1440
YRESO=900
BIT=32
HTOTAL=1904
VTOTAL=934

An alternate, untested way is: If you are not currently using the ATrpms repository then, as root, add the following lines to the bottom of your /etc/yum.conf file:

[atrpms]
name=CentOS $releasever - $basearch - ATrpms
baseurl=http://dl.atrpms.net/el$releasever-$basearch/atrpms/stable
gpgkey=http://ATrpms.net/RPM-GPG-KEY.atrpms
gpgcheck=1

Then execute the following command:

yum install 915resolution

Now you will need to configure the settings to match your monitor's native resolution. Edit the /etc/sysconfig/915resolution file with your favourite editor. You can use the following command:

vi /etc/sysconfig/915resolution

Change the contents of this file to match below, changing the resolution to match your display's resolution:

RESOLUTION="3c 1280 800"
</pre.
Finally we need to ensure this program is launched on startup by execute the following:
<pre>
chkconfig --add 915resolution
chkconfig 915resolution on

Reboot your system and you should now be able to use the resolution you entered.

Guide to install Linux on lab computer

Contents

CentOS 5.3 on Dell Optiplex GX620, XPS 710 or XPS 730

CentOS 5.3 on Dell Studio Hybrid

Hardware Specs

Notes

Getting the Intel graphics unit to work

Add support for widescreen monitors

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